Local jobless rate rises
Memphis-area unemployment rises to 11.9%, with every sector except the government losing employees.
The Memphis-area jobless rate ticked up in June to 11.9% as every sector except government shed employees.
Layoffs mounted in particular among hotels and restaurants, manufacturers, finance and real estate firms, and professional services including temporary-employment providers, a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report shows.
Nearly 74,000 residents in the nine-county metropolitan area were unemployed in June and 547,000 were employed.
One month earlier, the jobless rate measured 10.7% with 66,500 residents on the jobless rolls and 557,000 working.
Employers shed workers as business slowed when the economy contracted amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Metro Memphis’ unemployment rate has now registered in double digits for three straight months. In April, after mayors and governors ordered unessential businesses to close, the jobless rate reached 12.8% with 76,592 residents unemployed.
The United States unemployment rate measured 11.1% in June. Among metro areas in the Southeast, the jobless rate in June was: Charlotte, 8.4%; Chattanooga, 8.2%; Little Rock, 8.9%, Louisville, 6.4%; Nashville, 10.2%; New Orleans, 12.9%.
The results are based on a government survey of households. A separate government survey of employers shows a less dire pattern in metro Memphis.
In the metro area, employers filled 611,100 payroll jobs in June, up from 600,400 in May, but down from 651,100 in June 2019.
Metro Memphis employment reports generally show more workers than jobs, a reflection of the large number of part-time jobs in the local economy.
June’s jobless rate exceeds the highest unemployment rate recorded here during the 2008 crash.
After the crash, metro Memphis’ unemployment rate peaked at 10.8% in January 2010 and gradually eased, reaching a low of 3.7% in April 2019 when 617,000 residents were employed, 24,000 unemployed, and 652,900 payroll jobs were filled.